5 Destination Dupes For Your US Road Trip This Fall
There are some places that show up on every fall foliage list, every "best places to leaf peep" roundup, every friend's vacation photos. They’re beautiful, picture-perfect, and….behind the camera? Crowded, expensive, and often booked solid. Don’t get us wrong! We love visiting those towns, but we know that planning a trip to one of these most-visited destinations can be challenging.
We polled our team of travel experts to find alternative destinations to the big-name spots like Asheville, Aspen, and Jackson Hole. Our goal is to help you have an amazing fall experience, without the crowds or price tag. If you’re looking for mountain views, charming downtowns, and beautiful leaves this fall, these are our top destination dupes nationwide. Save these ideas for your next fall road trip!
Greenville, SC
Instead of Asheville, NC, try visiting Greenville, SC!
There are so many reasons to love Asheville, from it’s art scene, it’s incredible food scene, and it’s easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway for leaf peeping.
However, about an hour south, Greenville, SC is an up + coming destination with a lot of the same energy, but a fraction of the crowds. Greenville has a charming, walkable downtown area built Its walkable downtown is built along the Reedy River. If you’re looking to get active outdoors, there’s tons of hiking + biking to enjoy, or foodies can take in all the city has to offer with Foothill Foodie Tours. Plus, it’s still close enough to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a day trip if you’re determined to do the iconic drive, but you’ll have no shortage of great places to see leaves close by.
Where to stay: Grand Bohemian Lodge Greenville
The Berkshires
Instead of the Hudson Valley, try the Berkshires!
Don’t get us wrong, we love the Hudson Valley and all of the charming towns in the region! They’re easy to access from NYC and the perfect place to spend the weekend. However, towns like Hudson, Kingston, Cold Spring and Beacon are often packed with New Yorkers all fall.
Cross the Massachusetts state line into the Berkshires and you find similar charming towns, incredible farm-to-table food, and festive fall activities, but without the crowds. North Adams and Lenox are full of bookshops, galleries, and places to pick your own apples or get farm-fresh pumpkin treats. The drive between the towns will offer incredible leaf peeping opportunities, or you can opt for indoor activities like at the Yankee Candle Village or check out the art at MassMOCA.
Where to stay: TOURISTS in North Adams, MA
Montpelier, VT
Instead of Stowe, VT, try visiting Montpelier, VT!
One of the great things about Vermont is that everything is a quick, easy, and beautiful drive.
Stowe is the picture-perfect postcard version of a Vermont fall, but it’s also a very small town with limited lodging options! The good news? Montpelier, the smallest state capital in the country, is just a 30 minute drive away, and is home to a walkable downtown area with shops and cafes of it’s own. Plus, so many of the great things to do in Stowe are actually outside of town anyways! One of our favorites? Getting fresh maple syrup and learning about the process at Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm.
We recommend making Montpelier your home base for your next Vermont trip and taking day trips to Stowe, The Von Trapp Farm, and Woodstock!
Where to stay: The Inn at Montpelier
Taos, NM
Instead of Jackson Hole, WY, try visiting Taos, NM!
Jackson Hole has become an iconic destination, a great place to see-and-be-seen. While it still offers great shopping, dining, and beautiful outdoors, it’s no longer the low-key destination it once was.
Taos, just an hour outside of Santa Fe, also offers an incredibly dramatic landscape, where the Sangre de Cristo Mountains meet high desert. In the fall, the foliage is incredibly vibrant. Plus, the historic downtown of Taos makes for a perfect vacation destination. It’s main plaza is home to incredible artisan boutiques featuring New Mexico-made turquoise jewelry, charming bookstores, and great cafes. Visitors can also learn about Native American history + culture with a visit to Taos Pueblo, UNESCO World Heritage site, and home to a vibrant community of Puebloan people.
Where to stay: Hotel Willa
Feeling overwhelmed?
Here’s the thing about destination dupes - they give you the incredible feeling of discovering a hidden gem you weren’t sure if you’d enjoy, and loving it. That’s also the idea behind a Pack Up + Go surprise trip! If you want help planning your next fall foliage getaway, let us do the work.